Sellers made profits of 1 million or more in popular sydney suburbs

TYPICAL home prices have skyrocketed by more than $400,000 in Sydney’s most popular suburbs over the past year, with some sellers offloading their homes for up to $1.37 million more than they paid for them in 2015.

The biggest price jump was in southern waterside enclave Kyle Bay, where the median house price increased by $620,000, or 42.4 per cent, to hit $2.1 million.

The average house in the area had been about $1.47 million at the start of 2015, Core Logic data showed.

In the Cronulla area, further south, Burraneers median house price went up by $507,000, while north shore suburbs Artarmon, Neutral Bay and Castle Cove had median increases of $450,000 to $460,000.

Such increases outperformed already strong price growth across the Sydney housing market as a whole: the median price of city homes shot up 15.5 per cent last year, an increase of about $10,000 a month.

Core Logic analyst Cameron Kusher said recent price increases were a concern, considering prices have been growing strongly since 2012.

The research groups latest Housing Affordability Report showed Sydney dwelling prices were 8.3 times higher than annual household incomes and households were dedicating an average of 44.5 per cent of their income to service a mortgage.

Regulators may need to consider adjusting interest rates or taking other measures to bring house prices back within reach of middle-income buyers, Mr Kusher said.

Property experts claim prices were largely pushed up as a result of fierce rivalry between buyers for a limited supply of homes.

Homeowners became increasingly reluctant to list their properties for sale, fearing theyd struggle to find another home to move into at an affordable price.

With only a small choice of homes available, committed buyers bid high for the homes they liked, netting sellers staggering sales results.

In Lindfield, where a median priced house is now $472,000 pricier than it was last year, the sellers of a six-bedroom house on Highfield Rd offloaded their home for $1.37 million more than they paid for it only a year before.

The home had sold in 2015 for $2.55 million, but changed hands in the second half of 2016 for $3.92 million.

Selling agent Jessica Cao of Richardson and Wrench-Lindfield said the home was not renovated and the only change was that it sold with approval from council to have the 1500sq m block subdivided.

Number 1 Farnell St, a five-bedroom home in Hunters Hill, sold in December for $2.95 million, $1.05 million higher than the 2014 price of $1.9 million.

Another home at Matthew Flinders Way in Burraneer sold for $675,000 above its 2015 purchase price after only a minor renovation, according to agent David Highland.

The Highland Property Agents CEO said Burraneer recorded a 30 per cent annual drop in the number of properties advertised for sale, a remarkable feat considering there was already an unusually low level of stock available in 2015.

Sellers in this kind of market were at a huge advantage, Mr Highland said.

LJ Hooker national research manager Mathew Tiller said many of the buyers pushing up prices were investors or existing homeowners who benefited from the boom in prices.

People who had owned their homes for some time would have seen their equity grow considerably, Mr Tiller said.

They had an advantage if they wanted to downsize to something smaller because they could offer much more than what other buyers could afford.